As he was thinking about something, Lu Yanyu didn't notice that Zhang Tie had already stopped when he came to the bank of a brook. After taking two steps, Lu Yanyu realized that he had already walked in front of Zhang Tie. Lu Yanyu blushed as he said, "Ahem … ahem … this humble official was thinking about something just now. Sorry for my rudeness …"
Zhang Tie watched Lu Yanyu with a faint smile. Zhang Tie's eye light made Lu Yanyu feel that he was naked. Zhang Tie seemed to know what Lu Yanyu was thinking about. Zhang Tie even saw through the two letters of appointment in Lu Yanyu's sleeve.
Zhang Tie's eye light made Lu Yanyu flurried.
Zhang Tie replied with a smile. Of course, he didn't ask Lu Yanyu to accompany him for an inspection. Lu Yanyu had been in charge of the Peacewest Military Region for many years and was a real local snake. If Zhang Tie wanted to do a good job as Weiji General, he had to cooperate with Lu Yanyu. Given the current situation, one was a powerful dragon who had just arrived in Peacewest Military Region; the other was an old and powerful local tyrant. If the two parties worked together, they would easily suspect each other. Zhang Tie really didn't want to play hide-and-seek with Lu Yanyu anymore. Even the holy war couldn't be prolonged.
It was better for both parties to have a talk with each other frankly. Through yesterday's observation, Zhang Tie found that Lu Yanyu was indeed shrewd and capable. Additionally, Lu Yanyu had a high prestige among the officials in the Peacewest Military Region. Therefore, Zhang Tie decided to have a talk with Lu Yanyu today.
"How long has Mr. Lu served in the Peacewest Military Region?" Zhang Tie asked.
"This humble official entered the Peacewest Military Region at the age of 23 and served as the secretary of the Peacewest Military Region in Yuzhou City, Tieling Prefecture, Military Province. It's been 64 years since then …"
"Mr. Lu has served in the Peacewest Military Region for the past 64 years?"
"That's right. I'm the only one who rose from a third-class outcast official to a third-class official in the farming department of the Western Military Region. I've experienced almost all the official positions in the farming department of the Western Military Region of the Western Military Region!" Even though Lu Yanyu had a lot on his mind, he still sounded confident when he talked about his experiences.
Zhang Tie let out a sigh. Lu Yanyu was almost as old as Zhang Tie's grandpa. It was really embarrassing for him to be Zhang Tie's deputy. However, Zhang Tie didn't choose such an arrangement. The commander-in-chief would never care about the age of officials. "Across Taixia Country, very few officials could promote to a Class 3 official in the Protectorate General's Office from a low-level official like Mr. Lu. After hearing about his experience, Zhang Tie was in awe. If Mr. Lu didn't have the real ability, he would never have such a good opportunity!"
"I wouldn't dare. The reason why this lowly official is able to achieve what he has today, other than the appreciation I received along the way, is mainly due to my diligence and meticulousness. Milord, you are overpraising me!" After hearing Zhang Tie's praise, Lu Yanyu became a bit flurried as he said, "By comparison, commander-in-chief's experience is more admirable …"
Zhang Tie waved his hand. "I'm just a bit lucky. I'm not as good as you in many aspects!"
"This lowly official is scared …"
"What's there to be scared about? Who dares say that he's omnipotent? Even Meng Shidao doesn't dare say that he's more experienced than you in the farming agency, not to mention me …" Zhang Tie said without any scruples, "In Kangzhou City, I can find an old farmer who has a better farming ability than Meng Shidao; if I find a roadside peddler who sells pancakes, I'm afraid that Meng Shidao couldn't match the peddler in making pancakes; if I find an embroiderer, does Meng Shidao dare say that his embroidery could match that of an embroiderer?"
After hearing Zhang Tie mentioning Meng Shidao who was said to be the prime minister of Xuanyuan Hill this year, Lu Yanyu instantly closed his mouth. Based on Zhang Tie's social status and his relationship with the Gobbling Party, Zhang Tie could casually comment on Meng Shidao; however, Lu Yanyu didn't dare do that. However, after hearing Zhang Tie's words, Lu Yanyu's heart raced as he felt that Zhang Tie was not as scheming as he imagined. Compared to yesterday, Zhang Tie gave him an utterly different feeling. Lu Yanyu was a bit confused as he didn't know whether Zhang Tie was testing him or just telling the truth.
"Do you feel that I'm just testing you?" Zhang Tie asked Lu Yanyu with a smile after throwing a glance at him.
"Ahem … ahem …" Lu Yanyu became a bit embarrassed at once as he replied, "This lowly official dares not. However, as the master of royal prince is in a high position and is going to be the prime minister of Taixia Country, each movement of yours is related to the safety and welfare of Taixia Country. Therefore, this lowly official really doesn't feel proper to comment on it!"
"Haha …" Zhang Tie burst out into laughter as he said, "Well, if you don't feel proper to talk about Meng Shidao, let's not talk about him anymore. Let's talk about official affairs. How do you feel about the order of equalization of rewards and punishments that I issued yesterday?"
"This order is very good …" Lu Yanyu's face turned a bit solemn as he said, "The beauty of the order of equalization of rewards and punishments lies in the word 'equalization'. If it's determined by the commander-in-chief to reward and punish agricultural officials at all levels, if the amount is too high, your subordinates would complain about it. If it's determined by the order of equalization of rewards and punishments, besides affecting the logistics supply of the theater of operations, the commander-in-chief would be laughed at by the others for being ignorant about Weiji affairs or being soft-hearted. If the amount is neither too high nor too low, it would be difficult to arouse the enthusiasm of the officials at all levels in the theater of operations. However, if the amount is determined by the order of equalization of rewards and punishments, it would completely shut everyone's mouth. Even if the commander-in-chief killed someone for this reason, nobody would say that the commander-in-chief was cruel; instead, he would only say that the killed official was incompetent. Otherwise, how could the commander-in-chief make such a poor achievement? After the order of equalization of rewards and punishments, all the agricultural officials across the theater of operations have to compete with each other and try their best to increase the grain output of the official fields within their jurisdiction so as to solve the food shortage in the theater of operations. From then on, if there's any method to increase the grain output, I'm afraid that all the officials would rush to implement it without the commander-in-chief's order. This order of equalization of rewards and punishments is really marvelous and far-sighted. This lowly official really admires it. "
Zhang Tie burst out into laughter, 'Lu Yanyu is really a wily old fox who has been in the officialdom for 60 years. His insight is really sharp. His comment is also straight to the point …'
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